The surgeon had to open his skull to operate.
Bone fracture at the forehead, fracture at the nape of the neck, bruising to the eyes, loose teeth... The year started very badly for Mounir
(his first name has been changed)
, building painter, 59 years old, attacked in the station metro station Porte des Lilas, December 31, 2023. “I came close to death with this fall,” explains this father, his neck held in place by a neck brace.
This Thursday he found his attackers on the sixth floor of the Paris judicial court.
Originally from Algeria, they were sentenced to two years in prison, with a ban on French territory for ten years.
The judges in the immediate appearances chamber had no difficulty visualizing the scene; the RATP video was projected in the room on a large screen.
The image is impeccably sharp.
We recognize Mounir's slender silhouette at an ATM.
Around 6 p.m., he bought metro tickets when he noticed that a hand had reached into his left pocket.
He just had his phone stolen.
Neither one nor two, he starts chasing his thief.
In the background, another camera films the rest.
Another man trips Mounir, he collapses full length, at the bottom of the steps of a staircase, head first.
The one who tripped leans towards Mounir, grabs something and climbs the steps.
He took his wallet, from the inside pocket of the parka, which contained 500 euros.
“I was unconscious, I had taken Lyrica and alcohol”
Long seconds pass, Mounir no longer moves.
He lost consciousness and suffered head trauma.
A few passengers approach, we see them hesitating, one takes out a phone... Mounir escaped, with a neck brace, this long scar that crosses his skull, and the certainty that much care is still necessary .
He was initially prescribed thirty days of total incapacity for work, but he is still on leave.
His lawyer obtained an expert opinion, reimbursement of the telephone and the 500 euros never found.
“They leave their victim on the ground… These images are chilling,” said the prosecutor, who is demanding three years in prison and a ban on French territory against the two defendants.
In the box, the duo of thieves, assisted by an Arabic interpreter, no longer know where to stand.
“I made a serious mistake, I am totally sorry, I apologize,” declares the one who tripped and stole the wallet.
He assures that he asked a witness, encountered at the top of the stairs, to call for help.
“I was unconscious, I had taken Lyrica, and alcohol, beer… I regret it enormously,” continues the second.
“On the video, we don’t get the impression that you are clumsy in your gestures,” remarked the president.
Both arrived from Algeria at least five years ago.
Without a residence permit, they sleep outside or in squats, and have been in court, having already been convicted of theft in meetings in particular.
This is how, with the RATP images, they were found.
Too late for an alcohol test.
“At no time did he want the consequences of his actions.
By tripping, he could not have anticipated such a consequence,” said the defense lawyer, succeeding in reducing the number of years in prison.
The hearing on civil interests was postponed, an expert was appointed to assess Mounir's after-effects.